Did Enbridge erase 1,000 square kilometres of islands in animation depicting pipeline path or, is it just a “representation” not a map?

A Vancouver filmmaker has added fuel to the flames of a growing controversy over an animation posted by Enbridge Inc. detailing the route of the Northern Gateway pipeline project.

The pipeline project, once approved, would allow bitumen to be shipped by pipeline from Alberta to Kitimat and then by tanker out to the Pacific Ocean for export.

The video titled, “This is not an Enbridge Animation” posted on YouTube and Vimeo looks at four of the locations along the route and leaves it up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the accuracy of the Enbridge animation.

The goal of the video: “To make it about reality versus fiction,” said David Shortt, the 38-year-old who created the video and uploaded it recently.

Shortt, like others in British Columbia, believe Enbridge removed from its animation 1,000 square kilometres of islands from the Douglas Channel leading from Kitimat to the Pacific on purpose to suggest there wouldn’t be any trouble or problems for tankers.

The Enbridge animation shows Douglas Channel as a wide-open funnel without the existing islands and rocky outcrops. Those islands and rocky outcrops could make it dangerous for any tanker to manoeuver around.

“If you saw it on a map you’d wonder how a tanker would navigate those islands safely and that’s why they probably omitted it,” said Shortt.

Not so, says Enbridge. It has gone on the record on its website and in interviews saying the animation is a “representation” not an actual map.

“This whole thing has been blown completely out of proportion,” he said.

“It’s quite clear what the intent (of the animation) is. It’s a representation. It’s not meant as an accurate depiction of anything. If you look at it it’s an animation.

“There are numerous representations of the B.C. coast that don’t include those islands.

Stanway points out that Enbridge’s representation of the route has been used by many others, including news organizations, without so much as a peep since it was placed on their website about six months ago.

The animation became a cause célèbre recently after a Vancouver Island researcher created overlays and maps of the real Douglas Channel and posted it on Facebook.

That’s when Shortt, who used to work in marketing and advertising, decided to use his skills as a filmmaker to make a movie questioning Enbridge’s actions. It took him 10 days to film and cost about $1,000 to make.

“I just feel frustrated that we’re not being listened to,” he told the Star. “The majority of British Columbians don’t support the pipeline and feel like it’s being shoved down our throats.

“I think the reason people don’t support it, including myself, is because British Columbians appreciate our environment. It’s our biggest assets it’s why people move here.”

Shortt’s original plan was to create a 5 to 10 minute video that showed the actual locations along the route that were accessible, but his plan changed when the omission of the islands became an issue.

Getting the footage was difficult, he said. “I had a friend with me and she helped carry the equipment … We bushwhacked through the forests and climbed through swamps and goat soaked. It was physically taxing.” But it was worth it, he said.

Enbridge said it wasn’t going to comment on Shortt’s video, adding it (Enbridge) has gone above and beyond what federal and provincial regulations require in protecting the environment both on land and water.

Formal hearings on the pipeline project begin in September.

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